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Copy 1 



CHURCHES AND PASTORS 

OF 

NANTUCKET, MASS., 

From the First Settlement to the 
Present Time. 



1659-1902. 



By 

Rev. MYRON SAMUEL DUDLEY, A.M. 



Enlarged from an article in the Genealogical Register, and illustrated with 

frontispiece. 



BOSTON : 

PRESS OF DAVID CLAPP & SON. 
1902. 



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CHURCHES AND PASTORS 

OF 

NANTUCKET, MASS., 

From the First Settlement to the 
Present Time. 



1659-1902. 



By 



Rev. 



MYRON SAMUEL DUDLEY. A.M. 



...... c.o...^^r...->^^^^^^^O.j.^^^^^-^^ 



ister, and illustrated with 



BOSTON : 

PRESS OF DAVID CLAPP & SON. 

19 2. 






[Reprinted from the New-England Historical and Genealogical Register for 
January, 1902.] 



V^^.% 



\^ 



^ 



Two hundred and fifty copies of this edition printed. 



FOREWORD. 

This pamphlet is derived from a paper that appeared in the New 
England Historical and Genealogical Register for January, 1902, 
entitled "Two Centuries of Churches and Pastors in Nantucket, 
Mass." It is revised and enlarged so as to bring the record down 
to the present time. 

The author acknowledges his obligations to the officers of the 
various organizations for access to their church and parish records. 

Myron Samuel Dudley. 

Nantucket, Massachusetts, 
January, 1902. 



CHURCHES AND PASTORS OF NANTUCKET, MASS. 
FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE 
PRESENT TIME. 



The establishment of the first Christian church among the early 
settlers of Nantucket is shrouded in much mystery. Although the 
Island was first occupied by white settlers in 1659, there is no evi- 
dence that religious services were held in any stated way with a 
place of worship till about fifty years later, in 1710. 

In 1698 Thomas Chalkley, an English Quaker, visited the 
Island,* and six years later, in 1704, Thomas Story, another English 
Quaker, spent several days in Nantucket, f Both these men testified 
to the religious destitution there. From their narratives we also 
learn that there were ministers of the Gospel temporarily visiting 
the Island, who probably were sent from the Congregational 
churches of Eastern Massachusetts, and were holding religious ser- 
vices and ministering to the spiritual needs of the people. | It is 
quite probable that the Friends were the first religious body 
established there in an organized form ; but if the tradition about 
the first Friends' meeting-house, that it was built in 1710 or 1711, 
is trustworthy, it indicates that the Friends were not organized 
much if any earlier than the first Congregational Church, assuming 
the trustworthiness of the tradition that its first house of worship was 
erected in 1 7 1 1 . § Between the traditional time of the building of the 
" Old Noi'th Vestry," the common name of the building erected in 
1711, and used by the first Island church for religious worship, and 
the advent of Timothy AVhite in Nantucket, in 1725, there is a 
period of silence. The people who built the old vestry and wor- 
shipped in it must have been held together in some workable organi- 

* Journal of Thomas Chalkley, p. 33, fl. 
t Journal of Thomas Story, pp. 350 to 359. 
X Timothy White Papers, page 13, footnote. 

} Timothy White Papers, frontispiece, and illustration opposite page 24, and page 96 ; 
also page 14, footnote. 



zation, although there is no record or other evidence of any organi- 
zation previous to Mr. White's arrival ; and no administering of the 
sacraments that indicate a regular church establishment previous to 
1728. 

In preparing these rolls of the clergymen in charge of the churches 
of Nantucket since the first English settlement on the Island, no 
account is taken of the Friends who, unquestionably, prior to 1820 
or thereabouts, were the most numerous and strongest religious 
organization in its confines. This is for the good reason that the 
Friends had no ordained ministry. They had men and women who 
were chosen to be ministers or elders ; but these persons were teaching, 
rather than ruling, elders ; the function of the eldership as a calling 
to instruct and inspire coming to the front, the function of authority, 
for the greater part, being held in reserve. They had no pastors in 
charge of their meetings, and no paid official order. In theory of 
government, the Friends were a pure democracy with unrestricted 
suffrage. By suffrage, it is not meant that questions were voted 
upon as is usually done in other deliberative assemblies, by a written 
ballot or by a show of hands. The conclusion was reached by taking 
the sense of the meeting, in which the approval or disapproval, 
verbally expressed, of the whole assembly, was sought. The clerk 
declared what seemed to him to be the sense of the meeting, and 
this declaration was final. For business purposes, the men and 
women met in separate assemblies, but all participated equally in the 
discussion and in the decisions. 

In their religious assemblies, theoretically, the Friends were a free 
parliament, though in fact and in practice, as a rule, the right of 
speech was limited to the high seats, or those entitled to occupy those 
seats. Speech was free, but all speakers were not approved or 
welcomed, sometimes not allowed. This was well known, and 
though on occasions harsh and unjust, it served at times as a whole- 
some restraint upon cranks and dullards. 

In arransrins; these rolls, the chronolosrical order is followed in the 
main, and they are preceded by a brief historical sketch of the par- 
ticular church with which the list of ministers is connected. The 
sources of authority for these rolls, with names and dates, are the 
memoranda or diaries of the pastors, where these have come into the 
possession of the churches, and, chiefly and decisively, the records 
of the clerks and treasurers of the various churches. 



Tpie Roll of the Pastors of the First Congregational 

Church, from 1725 to 1902. 
It is not known definitely when this cliurch was founded, or when 
its first edifice was erected. Tradition indicates the date of the con- 
struction of what is now known as the " Old North Vestry " to be 
1711, but there is no record to authenticate this date. If the build- 
ing was put up at this time, it is reasonable to suppose there was 
some organization that owned and controlled it and worshipped in 
it. The first authentic record is May 9, 1725, when Mr. Timothy 
White notes that he began " preaching the Gospel at Nantucket " on 
that date. In 1728, September 29, the first record of the adminis- 
tration of the ordinance of baptism, by Rev. Joseph Baxter of Med- 
field, is made, and at that time a Covenant is owned. At the 
present time, it has not been possible to get beyond these meagre 
data. 

This roll, so far as known records indicate, is complete. There 
is one break of eleven years, from 1750 to 1761, of which period 
there is no knowledge and no tradition. There have been short 
periods between the pastorates, when the pulpit was occupied by 
supplies. 

The first pastor on these records, Timothy White, was not an or- 
dained minister. He served, under the auspices of the Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, as superintendent 
of the religious work among the Nantucket Indians, as teacher of a 
private school, and as preacher to the congregation of the First Con- 
gregational Church. 

The abbreviations immediately following the names indicate the 
relation of the pastor to the church and society. P. {. means 
pastor inducted into his office with this particular church by install- 
ation of a Council of Congregational churches; p., pastor inducted 
into office by the concurrent action of church and society; p. a., 
acting pastor, holding office by invitation (annually voted) of a joint 
committee of church and society, known as Supply Committee, with- 
out the action of either body. 

In the column for the term of service, the number of years are 
given without the fractions of a year, unless the time is a half year. 
The dates following the name give the full term of service in years 
and fractions of a year. 



1 Timothy White, p. a. ; 

2. .Tosrrn Mayht-.w,* p. a. ; 

3. Rkzai.kel Shaw, p. i. ; 

4. .Iames Gi rney, p. i. ; 

5. Abnkr Morse, p. i. ; 

6. SxErnEN Bati.et, p. i, ; 

7. Nathanikl Conn, p. a.; 

8. Stephen- Mason, pi-; 

9. Wm. .T. Breed, p. i. ; 

10. Geo. C. Paktrtdge, p. i. ; 

11. John S. C. Abbot, p. i. ; 

12. Charles Rich, p. i. ; 

13. George TnACHER,t p. i. ; 

14. Ren.tamin .TroKixs, p. i. ; 
lo. J. Emerson Swallow, p. i. ; 

16. Hf.nrt E. Dwight, p.; 

17. Isaac C. "White, p. a. ; 

18. Saml. D. Hosmer, p. a. ; 

19. Henry C Crane, p. a.; 

20. Charles J. R. Jones, p. a. ; 

21. Luther II. Angier, p. a. ; 

22. Howard A.HANAFORD.p. a. ; 

23. Louise S. Baker, + p. a. ; 

24. John C. Emery, p. a.; 

25. Myron S. Dudley, p. a. : 

26. Walcott Fay.§ p. a. ; 



May 0, 1725- May 1750. 25 years. 

1761-1766. 5 " 

Nov. 25, 1767-Feb. 28, 1706. 28 " 

Oct. 2, 170D-Jnne 16, 1819. 20 " 

Dec. 16, 1819-Dec. 16, 1822. 3 " 

May 8, 1823-May 25, 1827. 4 " 

Anir. 5, 1827-Aug. 31, 1829. 2 ** 

Apr. 29, 1830-Mch. 30, 1835. 5 " 

June 10, 1835-May, 1839. 4 ** 

Nov. 21,1 83 9- Aug. 1 0, 1 84 1 . 2 " 

Sept. 21, 1841 -Dec 5, 1843. 2 '* 

May 21, 1844-May 21, 1847. 3 " 

Nov. 14, 1848-Mayl4, 1850. I^ " 

Apr. 1, 1851-June 12, 1855. 4 '' 

May 21, 1856-Aug. 24, 1858. 2 " 

Nov. 8, 1858-Oct. 31, 1859. 1 " 

Jan. 14, 1861-Feh. 1, 1SG2. 1 « 

Oct. 16, 1862-Nov. 1, 1872. 10 " 

Oct. 2, 187;^Aug. 24, 1874. I « 

Mch. 20, 1875-,Ian. 1, 1877. If « 

Nov. 10, 1877-Oct. 20, 1878. 1 " 

Nov. 20, 1878-Oct. '2o, 1880. 2 " 

Dec, 12, 1880-Feb. 14, 1888. 7 " 

Dae. 9, 1888-Oct. 7, 1889. 1 " 

Oct. 21, 1889-Oct. 1, 1897. 8 " 

Nov. 1, 1897-March 24, 1001. 3 " 



* In rcgaril to Messrs. While anil ' ■ ' " " " :v- 

is vmdctcrminod. Mr. While was .. :- 

stallaliori into the v"*^*'<^'"*'to- The;)! , en 

1750 and ISOO, and the silence of tradiliou iu ri-j;aru to Mr. Maj, lic«, leaves his rt-iation- 
ship in donht. The relation of acting pastor was rare in the eighteenth centnrr. It 
i* ' ■■ ■" •'*•'- position of these two men was similar to th,-' ■'" ' 'ir 

at ' for an indefinite period, hv joint action o! r! 

.so, it can he dissolved by either partv in the i .it 

upon liuc uoiicc, and requires no calling of a council of neignboring chnrchc.-. 

t Thachm-. — This spellinjr was adopted and is used three times in a Church Manual 
prepared and ' ' ' ' ' ' j- Mr. Thacher's pastorate, and under his s^lper^ i.>^ion. 

Thatcher- .'Cars in the records of the church in the preliminary 

action that li 's call to the pastorate. This ia the only spelling to be 

found in the Cciiiiir.v Dict.oiiiiry Proper Xames. 

Tbacher occurs in Drake's Dictionary of American Biography; National Cyclopaedia 
of American liiography, Vol. 10, Index; AUibone's English Literature, Vol. 3. Prof. 
Thomas A. Thacher, of Yale University, was a member of the same family. 

X Miss Baker was recognized as a minister of the Gospel without the concurrent 
action of a Council of Congregational churches, at a special meeting of the church, 
August 25, 1884, and on the following Sunday, she was informally inducted into the 
pastorate of this church. This did not constitute her legally an ordained and installed 
pastor, but gave her a semi-official and an assured standing. 

>^ Mr. F.-.\ i'l inj- unable to complete the last year for which he was engaged, the 
Sr. ■esnmcd the charge of the pulpit for the balance of the year, till 

>> .Dr four months of this time, from May to September, Rev. Henry 

S. .-^ > J. ..... ■■ . , .nouth, Mass., was engaged. Rev. Rufus K. Harlow, of Medway, 

Mass., supplied till November 10, 1901. 



Soi.VfART. 

The following is the arumrnary of the pastoral service during the 
one hundred and seventy six yeara of this church's existence. 
A blank period. 1 1 years. 

Years of vacancy between iri.Mij.ixU:s. 18 " 

Aggregate. 20 '* 

Nnrnber of Paittors. 26. 

Yeara of pastoratea, in the aggregate. 1 47 " 

Average length of pastorates (1725-1902). 5 yeara, 7 months. 

Namber of Pastors from 1725 to 1799. 3. 

Yeara of pastorates. 58. 

Average length of pastorates (1725-1799). 19 years, 7 months. 

Nnmber of Pastors from 1799 to 1902. 2-3. 

Years of pastorates. 89. 

Average length of pastorates (1799-1902). ^j vears. 10 months. 

Thk Preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, from 

1799 TO 1902. 

Methodism was established on the Island in 1799. The first 
Methoflist P^piscopal preachers to appear here were Jesse Lee, 
Joseph Snelling and Georpfc Cannon, and the first regularly ap- 
pointed preacher was William Beauchamp, who came here in 1799. 
In the beginning of public services, the meetings were held in the 
Town Hall, but the first church edifice was dedicated January 1, 
1800. It stood at the south-west comer of Fair and Lyon streets, 
and at a later perio<l was known as the "Teazer" meeting-house. 
The present church building on Center street was dedicated in 1823. 

In the early part of the last century there was no time limit of 
preachers, who were assigned by appointment of the General Con- 
ference. In practice the term was one year, sometimes less, but 
rarely longer. This continued till 1804 ; then the limit was made 
two years, till 1864; three years, till 1888; and five years, till 
1900, when the time limit was entirely removed. 

The Conference year does not correspond exactly with the civil 
year, but dates from the session of the Annual Conference, which 
for the larger portion of the life of this church has been held in April 
or thereabouts, being assigned to the week before Easter, and has in- 



10 



eluded Palm Sunday. To illustrate, Mr. Beaucliamp remained with 
this church till the end of the Conference year, which was then July, 
1801, but according to Conference reckoning his last year was 1 800. 



1. 


William Bealchamp. 


1799-1800. 


2 


years. 


2. 


Joshua Wells. 


1801. 


1 


a 


3. 


Joseph Shane. 


1802. 


1 


n 


4. 


Joshua Soule.* 


1803. 


1 


a 


5. 


Truejian Bishop. 


1804-1805. 


2 


a 


6. 


Joshua Crowell. 


1806. 


1 


<( 


7. 


Alfred Metcalf. 


1807. 


1 


a 


8. 


Nehemiah Coy. 


1808. 


1 


u 


9. 


Jordan Rexford. 


1809-1810. 


2 


« 


10. 


William Stevens. 


1811. 


1 


a 


11. 


Elijah Hedding.* 


1812. 


1 


ii 


12. 


Philip Hunger. 


1813. 


1 


a 


13. 


John Lindset. 


1814-1815. 


2 


a 


14. 


William Marsh. 


1816. 


1 


a 


15. 


John W. Hardy. 


1817-1818. 


2 


a 


16. 


Ti3iOTiiY Merritt. 


1819. 


1 


a 


17. 


Asa Kent. 


1820-1821. 


2 


ii 


18. 


Isaac Bonney. 


1822-1823. 


2 


a 


19. 


Leonard Frost. | 








20. 


Hershall Foster, j 


1824. 


1 


ii 


21. 
22. 


Daniel Fillmore. ) 
Jotham Horton. ) 


1825-1826. 


2 


t( 


23. 
24. 


Benjamin F. Lamboro. ) 
Darius Barker. j 


1827. 


1 


(( 


25. 


Daniel Webb. 


1828-1829. 


2 


a 


26. 


John Lindsey. 


1830-1831. 


2 


ii 


27. 


Thomas C. Pierce. 


1832-1833. 


2 


a 


28. 


John Lovejoy. 


1834-1835. 


2 


ii 


29. 


John Lord. 


1836. 


1 


ii 


30. 


John T. Burrell. 


1837-1838. 


2 


a 


31. 


Stephen Lovell. 


1839. 


1 


« 


32. 


EZEKIEL W. StICKNEY. 


1840. 


1 


a 


33. 


Daniel Fillmore. 


1841-1842. 


2 


a 


34. 


David Patten, Jr. 


1843-1844. 


2 


a 


35. 


Daniel Wise. 


1845-1846. 


2 


a 


36. 


E. B. Bradford. 


1847. 


1 


a 


37. 


John Lovejoy. 


1848. 


1 


a 


38. 


William Livesey. 


1849. 


1 


a 


39. 


J. B. HUSTED. 


1850-1851. 


2 


ii 



•Afterward became a Bishop. 



11 



40. 


MicAir J. Talrot, Jr. 


1852-1853. 


2 years, 


41. 


N. P. PiiiLiiiacK. 


1854. 


1 


(( 


42. 


Joiix CoOl'KIt. 


1855. 


1 


« 


43. 


E. II. Hatfield. 


1856. 


1 


a 


44. 


S. W. CoGGKSriALL. 


1857. 


1 


u 


45. 


M. p. Aldekman. 


1858-1859. 


2 


a 


46. 


James A. Dean. 


1860. 


1 


u 


47. 


Asa N. Bodfish. 


1861-1862. 


2 


(( 


48. 


W. II. Stetson. 


1863-1864. 


2 


« 


49. 


C. S. Mackeading, Jr. 


1865-1866. 


2 


(( 


50. 


WiLLiAJi H. Jones.. 


1867. 


1 


(( 


51. 


William H. Starr. 


1868-1870. 


3 


(( 


52. 


G. A. Morse. 


1871-1872. 


2 


(( 


53. 


B. K. Bos WORTH. 


1873. 


1 


<( 


54. 


S. F. Evans. 


1874. 


1 


(( 


55. 


C. N. Hinckley. 


1875-1876. 


2 


(( 


56. 


C. E. Walker. 


1877. 


1 


« 


57. 


Richard Burn. 


1878-1879. 


2 


u 


58. 


A. L. Bearing. 


1880. 


1 


u 


59. 


jMerrick Ransom. 


1881-1882. 


2 


u 


60. 


Frank Bowler. 


1883-1884. 


2 


ii 


61. 


A. Morrill Osgood. 


1885. 


1 


a 


62. 


George E. Brightman. 


1886-1887. 


2 


((■ 


63. 


Samuel M. Beal. 


1888-1889. 


2 


(( 


64. 


Angelo Canoll. 


1890. 


^ 


a 


65. 


J. L. Hill. 


1890-1891. 


1 


(i 


66. 


R. J. Floodt. 


1891. 


h 


a 


67. 


J. N. Geisler. 


1892. 


1 


(I 


68. 


Royal J. Kellogg. 


1893-1894. 


n 


« 


69. 


D. C. Ridgway. 


1894-1895. 


H 


(( 


70. 


0. M. Martin. 


1896-1897. 


2 


a 


71. 


C. A. LOCKWOOD. 


1898-1899. 


2 


(( 


72. 


J. 0. RUTTER. 


1900- 


2 


(( 



Summary. 
Years of church life. 102. 

Number of Preachers. 72. 

Average term of service. 1 yr,, 4 mos., 23 days. 

The Roll of the Ministees in charge of the Second Con- 
gregational Church (Unitarian), from 1810 to 1902. 
This church was organized and incorporated in 1810. It was an 
ofFshoot from the First Church, started as a protest against the undue 



^ofC. 



12 



strictness and close surveillance exercised over its members by that 
church in the matter of recreations and amusements, rather than a 
withdrawal on account of any wide divergence on the question of 
doctrinal belief. The first minister was the Rev. Seth F. Swift, and 
his pastorate, in length of service, ranks him as the fourth on the 
roll of Island pastorates that exceed the average — White and Shaw, 
of the North or First Church, standing ahead of Swift, with pastor- 
ates of twenty-five and twenty-eight years, respectively, and the 
Rev. James E. Crawford, colored, pastor of the Pleasant street 
colored Baptist Church, who leads the Island pastorates with a term 
of forty-one years, 1847 to 1888. 

The ecclesiastical year of the Unitarian church dates from April 
first, or thereabouts. As a rule the pastoral term of service con- 
forms to that date, or begins and ends with that date. 

23 years. 



1. 


Seth F. Swift. 


1810-1833. 


2. 


Henry F. Edes. 


1834-1842. 


3. 


William H. Knapp. 


1844-1850. 


4. 


Jacob G. Foreman. 


1852-1853. 


5. 


George H. Hepworth. 


1855-1857. 


6. 


Orville Brayton. 


1859-1862. 


7. 


John K. Karciier. 


1863-1865. 


8. 


Thomas Dawes. 


1865-1871. 


9. 


Lemuel K. Washburn. 


1871-1872. 


10. 


Jesse H. Temple, 


1873-1873. 


11. 


Naiium a. Haskell. 


1873-1877. 


12. 


James B. Morrison. 


1877-1880. 


13. 


John R. Savage. 


1880-1883. 


14. 


Henry F. Bond. 


1884-1885. 


15. 


Cyrus A. Roys. 


1886-1893. 


16. 


Frederic P. S. Lamb. 


1893-1898. 


17. 


George H. Badger. 


1898-1899. 


18. 


John Frederic Meyer. 


1900- 



Summary. 
Age of church. 
Years of vacancies. 
Years of pastorates. 
Number of pastors. 
Average length of pastorates. 



91 3'ears. 
14| " 
76^- " 
18. 
4 " 3 months. 



13 

Pastors of the Colored Baptist Church, from 1835 to 1888. 

As near as can be ascertained from the meagre records in existence 
and from personal recollections, the African or Colored Baptist 
Church was established in a building on York street that was used 
both for a colored school and for religious services, about 1831. The 
pulpit supplies in the early years were temporary preachers, generally 
white, sent from Cape Cod for one or moi*e Sundays. 

There is a letter extant which indicates that the Rev. Jeremiah 
Kelley, a white preacher, became pastor of this church in 1835, but 
there is no record to show how long he remained. He is remembered 
by some of the oldest colored citizens. In Dec, 1846, and January, 
1847, steps were taken to re-organize and incorporate the church 
and society. What is known as the Pleasant street Baptist church 
building was erected at the corner of Pleasant and York streets. 
Rev. James E. Crawford, colored, became the pastor, and continued 
in office till his death, Oct. 20, 1888. This makes the longest 
Island pastorate, forty-one years, or from 1847 to 1888. 

Services are no longer held in the Pleasant street meeting-house, 
except upon special occasions, and very few of its congregation are 
left to tell the story. 

1. Jeukmiah Kelley. Jan. 19, 1835. 

2. James E. Crawford.* Jan. 1847-Oct. 20, 1888. 41 years. 

The Rectors of Trinity and St. Paul Protestant Episcopal 
Churches, from 1838 to 1002. 
The Protestant Episcopal Church in Xantuckct ovres its origin to 
the efforts of the Rev. Moses Marcus of New York, a diocesan mis- 
sionary, who first visited this Island late in 1837. In a few brief 
" Memoribilia " now in the possession of St. Paul's church authorities, 
the following is Mr. Marcus's record : " 1837, Dec. 30. I, this day, 
made my first visit to the Island of Nantucket. Dc. 31. Preached 
in the Methodist Chapel, in the morning: in the Second Congre- 
gational, in the afternoon : in the First Congregational, in the 
evening. I am the first clergyman wdio ever officiated on the 
Island." Nantucket was taken up as one of its mission fields 
by the Council of the Domestic Missionary Society, and shortly 

* INIr. Ci'awford, during his long term of service with this church, was to a con- 
siderable extent self-supporting, as in addition to his pastoral services he followed the 
occupation of barber. A man of great dignity in dejiortment, and of excellent char- 
acter, he was highly respected by the whole conunuuity. 



14 

after his first visit, Rev. Mr. Marcus was appointed to this field. He 
entered upon his duties March 31, 1838. Efforts were immediately 
entered upon to organize a church and to erect a house of worship . 
The church organized was known as the Trinity Episcopal Church, 
and the house of worship, located on Broad street, was consecrated 
September 18, 1839. On the 11th of July, 1841, Mr. Marcus re- 
signed his charge, and was succeeded by the Rev. F. W. Pollard. 

Trinity Church lost its edifice in the great fire of 1846. There was 
a heavy debt upon the property destroyed by the fire. It was decided 
to give up to the creditors all that was left, and begin anew. This 
was done, and Trinity chm'ch organization was dissolved and aban- 
doned, September 21, 1846, and a new organization was entered 
upon. The new enterprise was organized September 28, 1846, and, 
by a vote of seven for St. Paul to six for St. John, was named St. 
Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church. Between the time of Mr. 
Pollard's resignation, in 1844, and its dissolution, Trinity was under 
the charge of various clergymen as ministers in charge, as Messrs. 
Salter, Robinson and Allen. Shortly before the fire of July, 1846, 
and continuously till the organization was abandoned. Rev. Ethan 
Allen was in charge, and he became the first rector of the re- 
organized church. In making out the following roll. Trinity and 
St. Paul are one, St. Paul being to all intents and purposes a re- 
organization, for financial and prudential reasons, of Trinity. In 
this roll no account is taken of transient supplies, and in some cases it 
has been difficult to determine whether the clergyman in charge had 
been regularly inducted into his office, or was a minister in charge. 

1. MosES Marcus. March 31, 1838-July 11, 1841. 3 years. 

2. Frederick W.J. Pollard. July 18, 1841-Oct. 30, 1844. 3 " 
o (Ethan Allen. Trinity. Feb. 23, 1846-Sept. 21, 1846.| f^ ,, 
'^' t Ethan Allen. St. Paul. Sept. 28, 184G-Ju]y 1, 1855. ) 

4. Charles H. Canfield. Oct. 21, 1855-Mar. 25, 1857. l.J " 

5. Noah Disbrowe. April, 1857-April, 1859. 2 " 

6. Samuel H. Meade. Nov. 9, 1872-Mar. 29, 1875. 2 " 

7. William R. Hooper, Jr. April, 1875-April, 1876. 1 " 

8. Levi Boyer. July, 1876-Sept. 24, 1883. 7 " 

9. H. Warren Fay. April, 1883-April, 1885. 2 " 

10. Charles F. Sweet. July 1, 1885- April 11, 1887. 2 " 

11. Edward Porter Little. May 24, 1887-Nov. 30, 1893. 6 J " 

12. Edward C. Gardner. Dec. 15, 1893-AprU 12, 1896. 2 " 

13. .L CuLLEN Ayer. April 12, 1896-Oct. 1, 1899. 3} " 

14. Edward C. Gardner. Nov. 1, 1899-Nov. 30, 1900. 1 " 

15. John W. Gill. Mar. 1, 1901-June 1, 1901. i " 



15 

Mr. Gardner, tliougli a faithful and devoted clergyman, and very 
acceptable to the people of this parish, oAving to poor health, was 
never more than a minister in charge. There is nothing in the 
records to show that ]\Ir. Disl)rowe was ever invited to become rector. 
From the removal of Mr. Disbrowe, in 1859, till the call of Mr. 
Meade, in 1872, St. Paul was without a rector, being dependent 
upon transient clergymen. During this period, about all the church 
activities seem, practically, to have been abandoned. 

Summary. 

Age of Church. 62 years. 

Number of rectors. 15. 

Years of rectorates. 46. 

Years of vacancies. 1 6. 

Average length of rectorates, 3 years. 

The. Pastors of the First Baptist Church, from 1839 to 

1902. 

The First Baptist Church, whose house of worship is situated on 
Summer street, was organized in 1839. The late Rev. Daniel 
Round, Jr., was very actively and prominently interested in this 
movement, and he became the first pastor. lie had two pastorates 
over this church, Avith an aggregate term of nearly eight years. In 
the course of pulpit service for this church, there has been an unusual 
period of temporary supplies. Also, among those who have been 
considered pastors, there are many short terms of service, sometimes 
less than a year. The temporary sujiplies are not enrolled. But 
those reported as pastors, though on the ground less than a year, are 
given . 

The Rev. James E. Crawford, aa'Iio officiated as pastor of this 
church for about a year, Avas the pastor of the Pleasant street Colored 
Baptist Church at the time of his service Avith this church. 

Among those enrolled as pastors was one layman, Mr. George 
HoAvell, the tenth on the roll, who served as pastor about tAA'o years. 

1. Daniel Round, Jr. 

2. James Barnaby. 

3. George James Jounsgn. 

4. Reuben Jaffrey. 

5. Isaac Saavyer. 

6. Thomas W. Clark. 



June, 1839-Feb., 1844. 


4^ years. 


July, 1844-Oct. 4, 1845. 


H " 


Dec. 22, 1846-Aug. 1, 1847. 


f " 


1847-July 22, 1849. 


2 " 


1850-1851. 


l-H 


May 25, 1851-1853. 


2 « 



16 



7. Charles B. Smith. 

8. Abner D. Gorham. 

9. Abijah Hall. 

10. George Howell. 

11. Parker. 

12. James E. Crawford. 

13. Silas Ripley. 

14. John J. Bronsox. 

15. William I. Loomis. 

16. E. D. Fish. 

17. Alden B. Whipple. 

18. Daniel Round, Jr. 

19. G. J. Ganun. 

20. Charles F. Nickolson. 

21. William Dugdale. 

22. James R. Patterson. 

23. Edward A. Tuck. 

24. Roland F. Alger. 



June, 1854-Sept. 1, 1855. . 1 

Nov., 1855-Sept., 1857. 2 
April, lS58-Jii]y, 1858. J 

April, 1859-June, 1861. 2 
Oct., 1861-AprU, 1862. ^ 

April, 1862-Feb., 1863. 1 

Jan., 1866-Jime, 1867. 1 

Sept., 1868-AiDril, 1870. 2 

Nov., 1873-May 1, 1874. ^ 

June, 1874-Nov., 1875. 1^ 

Nov. 14, 1875-Feb., 1879. 4 

Aug., 1879-July, 1882. 3 

Dec. 21, 1882-May, 1883. J 
May 21, 1885-Nov, 20, 1885. J 

Jan. 23, 1887- April, 1888. 1 

March, 1889-Oct., 1896. 7J 

Nov., 1896-Dec. 1, 1897. T 

May 15, 1898-Nov., 1901. 3J 



year. 



Summary. 
Age of church. 
Years of vacancies. 
Years of pastorates. 
Number of pastors. 
Average length of pastorate. 



62 years. 
19. 
43. 
24. 

1 year, 9 months. 



The Roll of Priests in the Roman Catholic Church, 
FROM 1849 to 1902. 

There are no records of the early meetings of the Roman Catho- 
lic communicants in Nantucket, but it is known that as early as 
1849 mass was celebrated in the town hall, which stood near the 
present location of the Soldier's Monument, corner of jNIain and 
Milk streets. The celebrant was the Rev. Fatlier JMcXulty, of Xew 
Bedford. The Roman Catholic population was then small, and 
the services were not frequent. It is claimed that Mrs. Lucy Sulli- 
van, a native of Nantucket who espoused the Roman Catholic faith, 
was the leader in the movement to establish Roman Catholic religious 
services on the Island. 

From the commencement, there has been no priest permanently 
resident on the Island. This church with all its affairs has been in 
charge of priests living at Ncav Bedford, and at various points in 



17' 

Barnstable County. The services from the time of their first observ- 
ance in the town hall, were held in various other places, as the 
Quaker school-house in the vicinity of the site of Trinity church on 
Broad street, and in Pantheon Hall. Rev. Father McNulty con- 
tinued to minister to the Island Roman Catholic people as long as 
he lived in New Bedford. Following him was the Rev. Father 
Hennis, held in kindly remembrance as priest of the New Bedford 
Church, who made periodical visits, and conducted services till his 
death, about 1858. It was during Father Hennis's incumbency 
that Harmony Hall, on Federal street, standing on the site now 
occupied by the Roman Catholic Chiu'ch, was bought and consecra- 
ted to the religious use of those holding to that faith, as St. Mary's 
Church. Following the Rev. Father Hennis was Father Tallon, 
who began his ministrations in 1859. Tallon -was followed suc- 
cessively by Fathers Foley and McMahon of New Bedford. From 
the first establishment of Roman Catholic services to the close of 
Father ]\Ic]Mahon's incumbency, St. Mary's Church was under the 
spiritual guidance of the New Bedford priests. Following these 
came Father O'Connor of Harwich, Father McCabe of Fall River, 
Fathers Brady, McComb and Clinton of Sandwich, and lastly, 
Father C. McSweeney of Wood's Hole, who has been in charge 
since 1883. During the present incumbency, a new church has 
been built on the old site enlarged by the purchase of an adjoining 
lot. This building was erected in 1897. 

It is not possible to give definite dates regarding the terms of ser- 
vice of the various priests in charge of St. Mary. 

This is a church which has maintained itself with a commendable 
vigor and advanced with a stable growtli, although from the day of 
its establishment, it has been in the charge of a non-resident clergy. 

In the fifty-three years since the first beginning of its services, 
the Roman Catholic Church has had eleven priests, the average term 
of service being a little over four years and nine months. Father 
McSweeney has been in charge nineteen years. 

Roll of the Pastoks of the People's Baptist Church. 

This church was the outcome of a secession from the First Bap- 
tist Church. It was organized in 1897.^ Its first pastor was Rev. 
Edward A Tuck, who withdrew from the First Baptist Church, and 
took the leadership of this new enterprise. 



Roll of Pastors. 

1. Edward A. Tuck. Dec. 12, 1897-Juiie, 1899. IJ years. 

2. Thomas S. Sayer. Dec, 1899- 2 " 



Other Church Organizations. 

For the greater pai-t, these were sporadic and short lived. They 
generally sprang from dissensions in the existing churches. The 
records concerning these churches are very meagre, and no rolls are 
obtainable. 

Among these churches were the following : — 

The First Universalist Church was incorporated by Act 
of the Legislature, approved by the Governor, Jan. 20, 1827. 
There were twenty-two incorporators named in the act, among 
whom were many locally prominent men of that day, such as Aaron 
Mitchell, Samuel B. Tuck, Samuel H. Jenks, Gardner Coffin, 
Elisha Starbuck, Robert F. Parker, Joseph T. Worth and John 
R. Macy. The church was short lived, its age scarcely attaining 
ten years. Its house of worship stood on the site now occupied by 
the Atheneum Library Association. One of its foremost incorpo- 
rators, Samuel H. Jenks, was a leader in the organization of the 
Trinity Episcopal Church, in 1839. 

The only person associated with this organization as preacher, of 
whom there seems to be any record, is Frederick Swain, known as 
" Parson Swain." Whether he was regularly placed in charge by 
the authorities of the church, or only an occasional supply, there is 
no information. The records of the Church or Proprietors are not 
known to be extant. 

The African Methodist Episcopal Church was incor- 
porated by Act of the Legislature, approved by the Lieutenant 
Governer, March 4, 1835. It was known also as the Zion M. E. 
Church. Its house of worship was located on the south side of 
West York street, not far from the corner of Pleasant and York 
streets. The dwelling-house of Joseph Lewis, colored, now stands 
on the site of this edifice. There does not seem to be any record 
of the pastorates. 

The Second Methodist ■ Episcopal Church was incorporated 
by a special Act of the Legislature, approved by the Governor, Feb. 



19 

14, 1846. Among the incorporators were William Jenkins, Wil- 
liam Hart, Samuel Dunham, James Macy and Henry S. Coffin. 

They secured the building formerly occupied by the First Metho- 
dist Church, at the corner of Fair and Lyon streets. This was 
known as the "Teazer Meeting-house," from the flag of the sloop 
"Teazer," raised over the church building early in its occupancy by 
this new church society. 

Of the preachers, the only names recalled by informants are the 
Reverends Trakey, Blake and Dunbar. Rev. Mr. Dunbar was the 
last preacher, his date being about 1856. 

The Refoe3ied Methodist Episcopal Church was a move- 
ment in revolt from the First jSIethodist Church, largely on the 
question of local self-government. Its place of worship was located 
at the foot of Silver, near Union street. Meetings were also held 
at the Sailors' Bethel on Union street, in a building nearly opposite 
Stone Alley. 

The only event to fix the date and status of this organization is 
a notice in a local paper, dated November, 1835, wherein Moses 
H. Swift, the preacher of this church, a layman, whose occupation 
was that of a ship carpenter, and who held his appointment by the 
authority of the local Conference of the Reformed Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, was dismissed by two of the trustees. No other person 
is associated traditionally with this church as preacher, and there 
are no known records. 



APPENDIX — FRONTISPIECE. 



This is a reproduction of a very rare cut, an illustration, enti- 
tled " The Town of Sherburne in the Island of Nantucket." It is 
a copperplate, and first appeared, January, 1811, opposite page 34 
in " The Portfolio," a monthly periodical published in Philadelphia. 
It is a view of the town taken from the south-east borders of the 
lower harbor, between Abram's Point and the Asylum, in the 
region of "the creeks," sometimes called "Low Beach." In the 
left background appear the four windmills that used to stand on the 
high land southwest of the town, andtliey have given the name of 
" Mill Hills " to this spot. Only one of these mills survives. Next 
them, on the right in the background, is seen the tower of the Old 
North Church, now known as " The North Vestry." The present 
church edifice w^as not erected till 1834. The old church buildinoj 
was then moved back a few feet to make rooin for the new edifice, 
and its tower was removed permanently. The next tower, further 
to the right, is meant for that of the Unitarian Church, built in 
1810. Its proportions are faulty. Between the windmills and the 
headhouse of the rope walk, in the left middle ground, is a building 
with a square tower having at the corners ornaments like truncated 
pinnacles. Its location is in the vicinity of the corner of Fair and 
Lyon streets. This suggests that it may be the first Methodist 
Church, dedicated in 1800, and at a later date known as the "Teazer " 
meeting house. The sheep about Abram's Point, in tha extreme 
right foreground, suggest w^hat was, when this sketch was made, a 
thriving and important Island industry. 

This is a very interesting cut, and seems well worth reproduc- 
tion. It accompanies a well- written vivacious article entitled " A 
Description of Nantucket." Article and sketch ai*e by the same 
hand — Joseph Sanson, Esquire, of Philadelphia, a gentleman of ex- 
tensive experience as a traveller, and a popular delineator, with pen 



21 

and pencil, of the places he visited. The Island had been presented 
to his mind as " a sandbank," chiefly useful as " a place for fishermen 
to dry their nets on." But Mr. Sanson found a diversified land- 
scape witli hill and dale, with a great variety of agricultural pro- 
ducts and a surprising plant life. He was inclined to coincide with 
a naturalist who had recently visited tlie Island " in search of non- 
descripts," as he called the rare plants he was in quest of, and 
found the Island so rich in the unusual that he pronounced it, in 
raptures of discovery, " A Garden of Plants." 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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